Plagues of Egypt

The Plagues of Egypt were, in the Book of Exodus, two plagues which struck Egypt in 1491 BC, immediately before the Exodus. The first plague consisted of fleas and other pests, and it was said that it was caused by God's anger at Pharaoh Ramesses II's refusal to emancipate the Israelites as the prophet Moses demanded. Moses then turned the Nile to blood at a festival of Khnum and summoned burning hail upon Ramesses' palace, and he warned him that the next plague would be called by Ramesses himself. Enraged, Ramesses ordered for all Hebrew firstborns to be murdered, but God instead sent out another plague, this time consisting of toxic fumes, which killed all of the Egyptians' firstborns (including Ramesses' own son Amun-her-khepeshef) instead. After the plagues, the Israelites gathered together and, under Moses' leadership, left Egypt in the Exodus.